SandyEyes from Wisconsin

[Sandy]

Hello all, I'm new to this website and SO HAPPY I found it! I had a stem cell transplant about 20 months ago. I had been diagnosed with myeldyslastic syndrome which progressed into acute myeloid leukemia. About January of this year, I started showing signs of gvhd (graft vs. host disease) one being my eyes. Moderate at first, and then YIKES!! My right eye worse than the left, but on fire nonetheless. My oncologist first suggested drops during the day and ointment at night. Night mask, doxycycline drops, plugs and more drops - Restatsis didn't work because I didn't produce ANY tears. NO MAKE-UP! NO EYE CREAM! Then, through searching on the web, I read about Sjogrens Syndrome and took the info to my oncologist. He put me on Evoxac, which helps Sjorgrens patients produce saliva. I had marked improvement in a few days of taking it. The burning became less as did the irritation. However, I still had difficulty at times seeing clearly and needed drops often per hour for comfort. Then I asked the oncologist if I could try the Restasis again since I was making "some" tears. He said try it and it's been 9 days with relatively normal eyes again. I can not believe the improvement after all these months of pain and blur and bad mood! The frustration that was a part of my life, I hope, is at bay. I still am cautious, bought Panoptix and Tranquileyes, I take Thera Tears supplements, and still have a need for Refresh Liquigel, which seems to be the only drops lately that don't burn. So. . . for today, I thank God and I look forward to chatting with my fellow dry eye friends . . .

[Lucy]

Hello, Sandy. I'm your neighbor from across Lake Michigan. It sounds as though you have a full plate of problems with which to deal. I hope the actions you have taken so far will help your eyes. It's not a fun thing to have, dry eyes, but I'm sure you can attest that it's certainly not the worst thing a person may have to deal with. Needing drops every hour is not uncommon for those dealing with dry eyes, no matter what the cause. Sometimes, it can be an every 15 minute thing.

This board is full of much wisdom, compassion and sometimes a dash of b.s. LOL. A bit of joking around is to be expected. Sometimes we need a dark sense of humor and it seems to help.

[Sandy]

Not quite smiling eyes

Thank you Dry Eye Queen for the welcome! Humour is my best policy. This site is "mahvahlous", since it's the only contact (no pun intended) I've had with other "sufferers". I am the only one in my circle of friends, family and other cancer patients with this debilitating situation. So, glad to meet you!